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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Mathematics, Reasoning, Recording, and Reflecting

Robin Guettler's grade 5 students have been utilizing iMovie during their mathematics classes this year. As a culminating activity,students explain concepts utilizing whiteboards, and record their reasoning using iMovie. Their most recent unit was fractions and included concepts such as: finding equivalent fractions; converting between fractions and mixed numbers; and estimating the value of circle graph sectors.

The class was divided into teams of four, with each team having a set of skills to explain. Their task was to: introduce each problem; solve the problem on their whiteboards; and , using iMovie on their MacBooks, record their explanation or solution to the problem using specific vocabulary.

Each team's video was uploaded to the class YouTube channel. In the follow up lesson, the students watched the videos and and self-assessed.The assessment rubric included: Organization and Presentation; Use of Mathematics Vocabulary; Technical Details; and Teamwork.Questions such as: Did I explain the problem using specific math vocabulary? Was my explanation clear? Can I use this video help me to understand the concepts?

Each student embedded the video into their e-portfolio along with their reflection on their learning. Overall, they felt that they were secure at explaining the procedure, but not as good at explaining why.This has given them a skill to focus on in the next unit. They are also interred in improving their technical skills. They would like to learn more about iMovie to add titles to supplement their explanations.